- 7 weeks ago
In THR's interview series, "In Studio," the comedian talks about her comedy special filmed in Hawaii.
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00:00Hi, this is Mariah Gullow from The Hollywood Reporter, and we're in studio with Angela Johnson today.
00:08Hello! Hi! How are you? I'm good, I'm good. Thank you for having me.
00:13Thank you so much for being here. So excited about your new special that's coming out on Epix.
00:19Thank you. It's called Mahalo and Goodnight. Yes.
00:22And it was filmed in Hawaii. Yes. Wouldn't it be funny if it was Mahalo and Goodnight,
00:27but I filmed it in, like, Dayton, Ohio? Yes. What's with the name? I don't know.
00:32I filmed it in Hawaii, which is why I did Mahalo and Goodnight, because it felt like you can't film in Hawaii
00:37and then not acknowledge it in the title. Sure, sure. Yeah, I mean, it's the most exotic American location you could have.
00:44It felt like a staple. It felt like a live from Hawaii, but I didn't want to say live from Hawaii,
00:49so I was like, oh, Mahalo and Goodnight, that's a fun little play on words.
00:53You don't want to compete with Elvis. Exactly, exactly.
00:56But that's what made me think of it. So I was like, huh, okay.
01:01Oh, so why did you choose Hawaii?
01:04Well, you know, I choose all my specials where I've taped them based on my fan base
01:09and where I have, like, a loyal following that just really loves me.
01:15And I picked Hawaii for this last one because they've always been very supportive of me on the island,
01:22and all my shows do really well there, and I love the people, and the people love me,
01:28but it was this one situation that really sealed the deal for me.
01:32I put my tickets on sale.
01:35I announced my show.
01:36Not for the special, like, a couple years before that.
01:38I'm coming to Hawaii, announce my show.
01:40It's on this day.
01:42And in my mind, I was like, oh, I hope we sell out, and then maybe we'll add a second show,
01:47and it'll be awesome.
01:48The next day, Bruno Mars announced that he was doing a show the same exact day as me.
01:54So I was like, no one is going to come to my show now.
01:58Everyone's going to go see, you know, their local hero, Bruno Mars, plus he's just amazing.
02:03Like, I don't even want to go to my own show now.
02:04I want to go to Bruno Mars.
02:06So I was like, great, no one's going to come to my show.
02:08It ended up selling out.
02:09We added a second show.
02:10The second one sold out.
02:12And it was that moment where I was like, hmm, I'm going to do my next special here
02:15because the people of Hawaii are loyal, and they love me, and they're coming to support.
02:19So I'm going to do that here.
02:21That's great.
02:21What do you think it is about Hawaiians?
02:23Why do they connect with your humor so much?
02:25I think Hawaiians are very family-oriented.
02:28Everyone's auntie, cousin, uncle, brother, you know what I mean?
02:34So I think because I'm family-oriented, I talk about my family.
02:38I talk about my husband.
02:40And then I'm just very chill as well.
02:44Like, I'm not very uppity, and, like, locals are super chill.
02:47So I think maybe they see a little bit of themselves in me.
02:50So maybe that's it.
02:52I don't know.
02:52I love, Hawaiians have, like, a sort of passive-aggressive humor.
02:58How so?
02:58Where they, like, I have a friend who, we were putting our surfboards out.
03:04Yes, I surfed guys.
03:05She's a surfer now, you guys.
03:07Watch out.
03:08We were in Hawaii.
03:09We were putting our surfboards down.
03:10And a guy got up on the sidewalk on his bike.
03:14And he was kind of awkwardly going around us.
03:17And he's not supposed to be on the sidewalk.
03:18And my friend was like, oh, first day on your bike, eh?
03:24That's funny.
03:25Yeah.
03:26Are you sure that's not just her?
03:28Is she just, like, passive-aggressively sarcastic?
03:30Or is it all over the place?
03:31She really is the only Hawaiian I know.
03:33Okay.
03:34That's hilarious.
03:35It might be just her.
03:36But that is funny.
03:37So when you're putting together a special, you're kind of a veteran.
03:41You've had several specials now.
03:43Do you try to, like, kind of top yourself or do some sort of interesting skit?
03:49Or do you ever, like, try to think of some, like, crazy complicated thing and then just scrap it?
03:55No, I don't.
03:57So after I shoot a special, I'll start just writing new material.
04:01And every time I start writing new material, I think, okay, this year, this time, I'm going to, like, have a theme.
04:08And I'm going to think of something that my special is going to be about.
04:12And I never do that.
04:13I just start writing whatever comes out organically, whatever I'm passionate about in the moment, whatever funny thing happens to me in that season of my life.
04:22And so that's why all of my specials end up being just, like, an evolution of myself.
04:27And it's still family stories, still my husband's stories, because that's what I end up naturally talking about.
04:34Oh, my God, we're doing an interview right now.
04:37I don't know if you guys can hear that.
04:38It's really loud out there.
04:40Sorry.
04:41Yeah, so anyways, that's what I naturally talk about, so I just keep doing that.
04:45Yeah, I wanted to talk a little bit about your husband.
04:49First and foremost, I want to put this out in the beginning of the interview.
04:54Your husband's from Puerto Rico, or he's Puerto Rican?
04:57Yes.
04:57So there's a couple of terrible hurricanes in Puerto Rico.
05:01Do you want to talk a little bit about how that experience has been for you guys?
05:05Yes.
05:07We've partnered with our friends, Voices for Puerto Rico, Justina Machado, Rosalyn Sanchez, Gina Rodriguez.
05:16They're all a part of this organization that they have started giving their voice for Puerto Rico.
05:23And what they do is they're raising money, and they're distributing it to local organizations that are on the ground
05:32that actually know what to do with the resources that are donated.
05:37And so my husband and I have donated there, and we're sending a video in as well to just use our voice to help bring awareness
05:47because, I mean, there's so many other distractions in the media right now to keep us talking about other things
05:54other than what's happening in Puerto Rico, and it's really sad.
05:56But there's a, it's a crisis.
06:00Yeah.
06:00It's a crisis over there, and it's heartbreaking.
06:04Yeah, yeah.
06:05So, yeah, if there's anything you can do to help, like.
06:08Yes, go to, I believe it's voicesforpuertorico.com, and you can also go to Justina Machado,
06:16who is the star of One Day at a Time.
06:18Amazing, brilliant actress.
06:20You can go to her Instagram, click on her link in her bio, and it goes straight to that website.
06:26Great.
06:27Yeah.
06:28So, talking about your husband, it just seems natural that that's, married life is a place to draw humor from.
06:36Right.
06:36So, how do you do that?
06:39Like, what's the process of drawing humor from your marriage?
06:42Is there a lot of exaggeration, or are you just telling it like it is?
06:46Well, listen, when you are married to my husband, you don't need to exaggerate that much.
06:50It's just, he keeps them coming, and I just keep writing them down.
06:56Yeah, he's a bit of a original.
07:01He's one of a kind, that guy.
07:04And he's so easy to talk about, and so I talk about our stories, our marriage, my perspective on things,
07:14and I try to relate with the audience as much as possible.
07:17So, I'm like, okay, what can I talk about that is going to relate with people?
07:21They'll be like, oh my God, my husband does that too, or my wife does that, or whoever does that, you know?
07:26So, I like to connect with people in the audience.
07:29So, that's why it's easy to talk relationship, because everyone has relationship,
07:34whether it's with a significant other, or your mom, or your dad, or a sibling, or a roommate, or a friend.
07:41And everyone has a relationship.
07:43Yeah, yeah.
07:43And I like that your humor doesn't fall into, like, the trope-y stuff, like, men are like this, and women are like that.
07:50Like, you really, like, it seems very personal to you, but it's something we can all relate to.
07:54Right.
07:55It is.
07:56And if I do venture into men are like this, women are like this, it usually starts from,
08:02I do this, and my husband does this.
08:05Right, ladies?
08:06Isn't that united me?
08:07Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:07So, it's kind of like a, well, I do this, do you guys do that too?
08:11Okay, cool, we all do.
08:12You know what I mean?
08:12Yeah, yeah.
08:14So, one of my favorite parts of your special, speaking of relatability,
08:20when you talked about what it's like to kill a spider, I was like, how did she know my technique?
08:27Yeah.
08:28Yeah.
08:29Listen.
08:30Okay, so, I just moved to a house that's like, has a forest in the backyard, so there's
08:39spiders, like, everywhere.
08:41So, I had to learn, yeah, yeah, I had to learn.
08:43There's spiders everywhere here, people.
08:45I had to learn to, like, be okay with spiders, because it used to really just, like, I could
08:50feel them crawling up my neck if I saw it across the room, and I'm like, oh, it's on me, but
08:53I could see it, it's over there, it's not on me, but I feel it, you know what I mean?
08:56Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:57But now, I'm like, I see them all the time, so I'm like, oh, there's another spider.
09:01But, yeah, there's very special techniques to killing spiders, and my husband does not
09:08know the techniques.
09:09He has no spider-killing etiquette at all.
09:12He's the guy who will, like, flick it in your direction just to get it off himself.
09:17If there's a spider, like, on the wall, he'll, like, hit it real hard with a shoe or something.
09:23And I'm like, okay, now you just left a mark on the wall.
09:27Like, that was not the right tool in this scenario.
09:31You get a toilet paper, you grab it off the wall politely so you don't leave marks on your,
09:36you know what I mean?
09:37He just, he doesn't know.
09:38He doesn't know.
09:43So, as a female comic, have you seen anything change in the industry?
09:49Are you seeing, like, more women getting more opportunities as the years have gone by?
09:53Sure, sure.
09:55Still not equal, still not as much as men.
09:58But, yeah, there's a lot more women in comedy today.
10:01And I think that is really thanks to Chelsea Handler, in my opinion, for her show that she had,
10:10Chelsea Lately, and bringing the different comics on her panel.
10:14And she would always include women on her panel.
10:17And so, I think, even though I was never on her show, I think a lot of us women have gotten opportunities,
10:25thanks to her, for what she's doing, bringing light to women comedians.
10:28Like, oh, women are funny for those who had a prejudice before.
10:32And they would tune into her show and see funny women and be like, okay, women can be funny.
10:35And then maybe they're walking by the comedy club and they see a girl's name on the marquee,
10:40when maybe they would have walked past, like, nah, maybe now they'll, like, take a chance and be like,
10:45oh, well, I saw that one chick, she was funny, I'll go check her out, you know what I mean?
10:49Even little things like that, I think.
10:52We definitely have more opportunities now with YouTube and social media and things like that,
10:58but it's still definitely a guy's world, for sure.
11:01What about backstage?
11:02Do you feel like, like, I always wonder if comedians, because I know that comedians can be very competitive.
11:08Sure.
11:09And, you know, it can be very kind of clicky or clubby.
11:13Do you feel like backstage you're being, you know, treated with more respect,
11:17or are they more open to you, or is it more of, like, let's see what she's up to?
11:22Well, when I do my own shows on the weekends, it's the only people in my green room backstage
11:28are me and my opener and my road manager and, like, the host, you know?
11:32Yeah, yeah.
11:33Um, so I treat myself very well.
11:36Um, but there's times when we'll go to comedy clubs and maybe the management isn't used to
11:44powerful women saying how they want things done.
11:49You know, my road manager is a woman, so when she comes in, like, all right, we want it this
11:54way, this way, turn that off, turn this up, then they're like, whoa, whoa, whoa.
11:57But if this was a dude comic, they would just be like, oh, yeah, sure, sure, what else do
12:01you need, you know?
12:02Yeah, yeah.
12:03And it's every now and then, for the most part, we do get comedy clubs that are just super
12:08supportive and, like, yeah, whatever you need, how else can we help?
12:11And, you know, every now and then you get those, you know, a couple of guys that are
12:14like, nah, if we get around to it, sure, we'll come unlock the back door for you to get
12:19in.
12:20We've had to walk all the way around because they won't come open the door for us.
12:23Right.
12:24Whatever.
12:24What's it like going on the road for so many dates a year?
12:32It's rough.
12:34Does it get harder as the years go on or do you want to be at home more or is it more
12:38exciting because you've got more success?
12:41Maybe it's more comfortable.
12:41Different seasons.
12:42Different seasons.
12:43I would say there were times early on when it was really hard and times early on when
12:47it was really fun.
12:49And same thing right now.
12:50There's times where I'm like, oh, I can't wait to get back on the road.
12:53And then there's times where I'm like, I just want to go home.
12:55I just want to be with my husband, sit on my couch, watch Law and Order SVU and just
13:00be home.
13:01And then I think to myself like, okay, but if you're doing that all the time, then you
13:05won't afford to be able to do that.
13:06So you have to be on the road.
13:07Right.
13:08But it is, it's a lot of fun meeting people all across the country, seeing how something
13:15that I have done has impacted people's lives.
13:18Like firsthand, you know, I wrote a joke and I get to see them laugh, hear them laugh,
13:22feel them laugh in the room.
13:24That's a pretty, pretty cool experience to have with a group of people.
13:29And even if it's just like there's 200 people in the comedy club, even if I'm doing the
13:35same show, the first show and the second show, it's not always completely the same.
13:38So like this audience just got a special, unique experience and I got a special, unique
13:44experience that none of us will ever have again because it was unique to me, you, you,
13:49you, you, you, you, and you.
13:50The second you leave, it's a different experience.
13:52You know what I mean?
13:54So it's cool.
13:55It's special.
13:57This is a question that I asked Kamau Bell and Jordan Klepper.
14:00Is there a part of the country that is naturally more hilarious?
14:05Naturally more hilarious?
14:06Well, it depends, laughing with them or laughing at them.
14:10How about both?
14:13Anywhere where it's diverse, it's easier to laugh with people because they're cultured and
14:21they get it.
14:22Yeah.
14:22You know, there's some places I go to where I have a great show, amazing energy.
14:28They're so excited to be there, but they have no Latino people in the area.
14:33So anytime I'm talking about something in my family or my culture, they laugh because
14:41they love me and they're supportive of what's happening, but they don't laugh like they get
14:45it.
14:45It's like a polite laughter.
14:47Yeah.
14:47Like they don't appreciate it.
14:49They're not like, oh my God, my friend does that.
14:52They don't have a friend that looks like this.
14:55You know what I mean?
14:56So it's more like a, oh, that's cool.
14:59You know?
14:59Yeah.
15:00So in those situations, it's easier to laugh with diverse crowds for sure.
15:05Right.
15:05Right.
15:06So you're pretty well known for your dialects or being able to imitate certain dialects
15:12or beatboxing or just all of your vocal acrobatics.
15:16How did you get into that?
15:17Ooh, vocal acrobatics.
15:19Yes.
15:19I'm going to put that on my resume.
15:20Nice.
15:21I'm a vocal acrobat.
15:23How'd you get into that?
15:26I don't know.
15:27I guess I have a good ear for sounds.
15:32Since I was young, I would do different accents and different sounds.
15:38So I don't know.
15:39I don't know.
15:39I kind of taught myself how to beatbox.
15:43I would look up YouTube videos and I would just watch and learn.
15:48And I remember one time when I first started doing standup, I had started practicing beatboxing.
15:53And I was in the car with two of my friends, these two guys that were driving.
15:56I was in the back seat.
15:57And I was like, you guys, I've been practicing beatboxing.
16:00I think I want to do it in my act.
16:02And I had been doing standup maybe like a year.
16:04And I was like, let me do it for you guys and tell me what you think.
16:07And so I started beatboxing.
16:08And they were like, no, don't do it.
16:10Bad news.
16:12Don't even try it.
16:14I was like, oh, man.
16:15And then I just kept practicing.
16:17And then I did it.
16:18And I was like, oh, okay.
16:19Well, I got better.
16:21I watched some more YouTube videos.
16:22And if I meet somebody who is like a really good beatboxer, I'd be like, oh, teach me a sound.
16:27You know, teach me something different.
16:28Because I know like four sounds and I just stick to the four that I know.
16:31That's kind of how I am with accents too.
16:32Like I know like I can do like four really good.
16:35And then the other accents I can say like three words in enough to where you go, oh, you can do that accent.
16:41But I can't say anything other than those three words.
16:45Yeah.
16:45It does take practice, huh?
16:47It does.
16:47To like just get that.
16:48And all my accents end up sounding like Vietnamese anyways.
16:52It always goes back to that.
16:54It always goes back to Vietnamese.
16:55If I'm being like, oh, I'm from the UK and I'm talking with a British accent.
17:01And all of a sudden I start to talk a little bit like the Vietnamese.
17:05Like it just morphed into Vietnamese.
17:07I don't know how that happened.
17:09But all my accents end up Vietnamese.
17:12So are you retiring the nail salon lady or Bon Cui Cui or are they coming back?
17:17Never.
17:17No, I can't.
17:18I'm not allowed to.
17:20I actually, so the nail salon joke is one of the first jokes that I ever wrote.
17:26And I've been doing stand-up for about ten years now.
17:28And there was a time where I started listening to the wrong people.
17:35And I was listening to the haters and the critics and the competitive comics.
17:42The ones that were like, oh, all she has is that one joke.
17:45That's all she does.
17:47Oh, she's still doing that joke.
17:49I started listening to those people.
17:51And so I was like, you know what, I'm going to prove myself.
17:54And I don't need that joke, right?
17:56So there was one show that I did.
17:57It was in San Francisco.
17:59And I told myself I'm not going to do the nail salon joke.
18:01And I didn't do it.
18:03And I felt guilty afterwards.
18:06I felt bad.
18:07And then I got messages on Facebook.
18:09And I remember this one girl sent me a message and was like, hey, my friends and I drove like three hours to come see you.
18:16That's like our favorite joke.
18:17We like text it to each other.
18:19And it's our thing.
18:20We're really looking forward to hearing you say that joke.
18:21We're so sad that you didn't say it, right?
18:24And it broke my heart.
18:26And I was so sad for them because I started thinking about myself.
18:31I'm like, okay, here I'm trying to prove myself.
18:32But I'm proving myself to the wrong people.
18:34Like they don't buy tickets to my shows.
18:37They don't support me and love me.
18:39Like these people who pay their hard-earned money to come and see me perform live, they've saved up for this show.
18:47You know what I mean?
18:48Like people will tweet me their sacrifices like, oh, I really wanted to go this, but I chose your show instead.
18:55I'm like, oh, my gosh, thank you.
18:56Like they chose me.
18:57Like I perform for them.
18:59And I do what I do for them.
19:02And as long as they still want it, then I will still give it to them.
19:06So that's kind of how it works.
19:07That's a really astute observation.
19:09Yeah, to go towards the people who enjoy you.
19:13Right.
19:14The people who are criticizing you.
19:15Right.
19:15It seems so simple, but we forget about that.
19:17All the time.
19:18All the time.
19:19I still have to do that constantly.
19:21I can't read comments on YouTube or anything like that.
19:24I'm like, no, no, no, no, no.
19:25I'm not going to even go there.
19:27I can't.
19:28So I have, before I let you go, I have a rapid fire question.
19:31Okay.
19:32First best, last worst.
19:34First best, last worst.
19:35That's a tongue twister.
19:36Yeah.
19:36First acting job that made you think, I've made it.
19:40I was in X-Round Friends.
19:42Nice.
19:43It's still my favorite job to this day.
19:45I've been in movies, TV shows.
19:47When I was in X-Round Friends, that was my favorite job.
19:49That's awesome.
19:51Best story you have from on the road.
19:53Best story?
19:54I don't know.
19:58There's a, you know what?
19:59Okay.
20:00The best and worst weekend.
20:01I was in Pittsburgh and I had just done a sold out weekend in San Jose and it was like
20:08eight shows sold out.
20:10Like they loved me.
20:11And then I went to Pittsburgh and I sold like 19 tickets and it was like, oh, crickets.
20:16Nobody knows me here.
20:17And so it was like the worst as, um, for my pride, you know, but it was the best because
20:25it caused me to get out of my comfort zone and grow as a comedian and as an artist.
20:31And I started playing around on stage when I wouldn't do that normally.
20:35Oh, that's cool.
20:35And so like I grew as an artist and then I ended up hanging out with the staff of the
20:40club and they took us tailgating for a Steelers game and like we went all over the place and
20:45that was one of my best road experiences.
20:48It was the best and worst all in one.
20:49That's really cool.
20:50And the 19 people were probably pretty impressed by the improv skills.
20:52Yeah, they were pretty excited.
20:54They got, they, oh, they were all front row.
20:56They, they didn't know it, but they bought front row tickets.
21:01Um, uh, last funny story about being recognized in public.
21:05Funny story about being recognized in public.
21:08Well, there's times where people recognize me and then I realize it's not me who they
21:14think they're recognizing.
21:15They think you are.
21:16Yeah.
21:17Um, going through the airports.
21:19Oh my gosh, you're so funny.
21:21And then they quote a joke to me that's not mine.
21:23Like it's clearly like Whitney Cummings joke or something.
21:26And I'm like, oh, that's not really me, but thanks so much.
21:31So yeah, I guess that's a good, oh, when I was, um,
21:34I, I talk about this one in my, my second hour special, a little girl at the mall recognized
21:43me from Elvin and the Chipmunks, the movie.
21:45Oh.
21:45And she said to me, I saw you in the Chipmunks.
21:49I said, you did.
21:50And she goes, did you see me sitting on my bed?
21:53Oh, it's the sweetest moment ever.
21:59So sweet.
22:00Did you see me sitting on my bed?
22:03So sweet.
22:04Very cute.
22:05Uh, worst audition experience.
22:08Oh, take your back.
22:11Worst audition experience.
22:14Oh, when I was just getting started, this one gives me nightmares still sometimes.
22:17Um, when I was just getting started, I would audition for whatever I could, right?
22:25Commercials, promos, whatever it was.
22:28And I got this last minute audition, but I was also a babysitter.
22:32I was a nanny, right?
22:33And so I was a nanny to a two year old girl and her older brothers that were like, one was
22:39nine and one was like 13.
22:41So I brought them with me to this audition.
22:43Oh no.
22:44And I had to wear a bikini, right?
22:47Oh no.
22:47So it was like Fanta or something, not even name brand Fanta, but whatever off brand Fanta
22:54is, it was for them.
22:56And so I'm in this audition and they're all in the room with me.
23:00Like I brought them all in the audition room with me because I'm like, well, I don't want
23:02them to get kidnapped in the waiting room and then I'm responsible.
23:05So they're all in there.
23:06They made me dance around like in my bikini.
23:08It was like, I had to do like sexy shimmy dancing and I have these like 13 year old
23:13boy and a nine year old boy and they're watching me like shimmy in my bikini for a camera.
23:19Like that was a low point for sure.
23:26I'm scarred.
23:27Well, it's all up from there.
23:30It has to be, right?
23:31I hope so.
23:33Angela Johnson, thank you so much for being here.
23:36Thank you for having me.
23:37This was fun.
23:37Check out your, check out the special Mahalo and good night on epics.
23:41That's right.
23:42Bye.
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